Hold it up..

 Here are some of the new bases I have been working on. Like I mentioned in the last Wave Serpent post I wanted a much better base to put my skimmers on. I wanted something that was stable but also looked cool so I started working on a laser cut base. I made one with space for the magnets and depending on the tank they will be holding bigger or smaller.

 I thought symbols would look pretty cool on there so I made some on the base and also on the support. Depending on the look I wanted to go for I would switch up the base or support.These are made of birch but the next set I cut will be MDF. I think it will paint a little better and not show any grain. I used spackle on theses to give it the waithbone look.

 This one has the Wave Serpent symbol on it and the marker for being one of the squadron.

 Pictures will a little more light so they stand out more.

 And here they are in just bare wood. I have a few other designs in there as well. I like the Falcon design and will probably be using that for the Falcon I painted recently. I need to make a ton more for my Jetbikes as I want them to all have the same style of base.

Speaking of the JBs here they are with the magnets on. They are also chilling with the Hornets .. right now these are the things I need to work on. Hopefully the needle and tip will be in tonight so I can get some good blending going on!!!

Gun Swap..

 It might not look that exciting but damn does magnetizing these jetbikes take forever. I got a little thicker magnets to make sure they wouldn't bounce around but that caused another issue. I'd have to really bore out parts of the bike and gun or go with a thinner magnet. Using the Dremel I bored out the bike under body and tried to gauge out my depth. They are pretty close ..

 It was a lot to bore out and I still need to pick up at least two more. So far I have to say these bikes can be a pain. Be very careful with them. Use handling them to do other things I've snapped off two handlebar grips and one of the vanes.

 With it bored in they should fit pretty well.

 I started with a thinner magnet to see how that would work but I don't want it to bounce and a surface bond isn't as strong.

 Bored out it will have a much stronger bond.

 The left magnet is bored and the right is the surface. You can't even tell the difference which is what I was going for so win ..

 I left them drying up and will be testing them later to make sure I didn't flip any magnets. I mark each of the magnets with a sharpie to make sure but ... it was a bunch of magnets and mistakes can happen. Hopefully they didn't.

The bikes are pretty close to getting painted, sadly I've been having a lot of spatter from my detail airbrush so I'm going to do a massive cleaning on it and I ordered a new needle and tip which should be here tomorrow and I can start getting some work done. Progress is being made 8) ..

You Best Get Crackalack'n Son..

 It's been a while since I posted a working update..  I've been super busy and in kind of a slump. But with NOVA quickly approaching this dude man bro needs to get working. And one of the things I need to get done is the converted Wave Serpent I've been working on for .. well awhile now .. I've been playing around with some different detail looks and have been going back and forth with a few things so it's been pushing it out even farther. I think I have all my ideas lined up now though so now it will be the finishing details and clean up..

 It's getting pretty close at the moment. ..  the gems need a little work, the pilot needs to be blended and the turret needs some love but it's getting there. I'm also in debate over a symbol or two. On my Dar I usually don't like to load it up with icons though. My boys are above all that haha.. uppity and all that ..

 It's on the new bases I've also been working on and so far pretty happy with them. This was the first one so there are a few things I'll need to work out though.

 I changed the rear vents to have the matching purple inner glow .. whatever powers my Eldar vehicles gives off a purple hue .. 8)

 I got the underslung magnets done so I can swap them out should I want one or the other. The guns still need a bit of work as not they are kinda just black metallic..

 Here are the bases by themselves. I wanted something to hold the skimmers a little better then a little stick and wanted them to have some reasons behind them. The upright has a squad marker on it and the base itself has a diamond cut to show it's one of many. I'll have to post up some of the other bases in a few days to make it make more sense.

BOOM.. a new post..  happy to have something that actually looks interesting to post up on the site. Now I have to start steam rolling a bunch of models..  yikes,.

Build it up.. NOVA 2015

So it's coming up on Mid May and NOVA is approaching. I was originally thinking I was just going to be updating some of my models to increase my Painting Score. That is what I was going for and was pretty happy with that. This morning I was emailing with Greg and Evan and we were kind of talking about the same thing. Now I have a new Codex which is going to cause me grief as my army will not be completely different. So now I have to paint a bunch of new things to get them into the list and that is going take up a lot of time.Over the weekend I got in two games VS Greg and I got the feel of the new Dex (or at least the units I used(no Str D)). I know which way I'm leaning, I'm not even looking at anything with the "D" profile. It's not worth it at this point. I don't know what is legal and the rules will keep changing so unless something major happens and I was solid on my painting they are completely off the table.

Right now this is my to do list so far ..

Finish up my converted Wave Serpent (80% done)
Build/Paint/Finish 16 x New Jetbikes
                        2 x Warlocks
                        2 x Seers
                        14 x Scatter Bikes
Touch Up/Update     6 x Fire Dragons w/ Exarch
                                  1 Warp Spider Exarch
                                  7 Dark Reapers w/ Exarch

Modifications to my Display Board

So far that's what I'm looking at .. I know I'm going to change it some but I have a ton I need to get done. There are touch ups I want to do..

I've been working on the bikes but sadly don't have the pictures at the moment. I have a good bit about the bikes to go over but I'll wait till I have the pictures to explain more. I also have the new skimmer bases I've been working on. Laser cutting which I think are coming out looking very cool. There will be more updates more regularly coming up..   I just need to get my butt moving ..  NOVA will be here before we all know it..

Dar Dex Review

 I've been combing through the new Eldar Codex and I have some comments on it. With all the hype out there about the book and how it's the end of the world I wanted through out some information I've gleamed. Let me just say this to open..... I love this book. That is not based on the power level of the book but the fact that they have addressed a lot of the issues about the book before. They've really made the book have a solid Eldar feel, they've addressed a lot of units that would never ever see the field. But sadly with the move of Distort Weapons to StrD it will now take units completely off the table due to TO's banning them. This might be short term as I would expect and/or hope newer books will have the added flair and power the Eldar Codex has. The book itself looking awesome with a ton of new artwork inside not to mention some of the imagery we've come to expect. There is a whole section of the book that shows the units and their color schemes.

To me that is awesome. I love seeing a well thought out book with a lot of useful images. It's nice to see them giving people some ideas to incorporate and some more iconology that we can mix into the models. That is GW's strongest aspect.. the story that has been built up.. they just need to be careful how much they modify it. When they expand on that information and add imagery it really gettings you into that zone.. well for me it does at least but I'm figuring most of you are there as well. That's why I still paint and play, I've been in that world for too long to let it go. I don't have the time to play anywhere as much as I use to so the painting is a larger part of the hobby now so having a cool looking and written codex makes me happy.

I was talking with some of my friends and we had always said that GW doesn't listen to their player base but now when I think back and they may actually listen too much. Or they they just change directions at random for no other reason I can think of other then just to do it.  Think about how this has gone, books were coming out and people start complaining about how OP they are and when I said complain I mean fill every forum out there with cries of I'll quit and this is so stupid!!! RAGE!!!! Then we start to see books that are so boringly bland that most people are then like WTF!? LAME!! To me it seems GW goes back and forth on how they should make books constantly and that throws off the internal balance constantly. If they want the books to have balance they need to pick a game plan and stick to it for the entire edition or at least till all of the codexes are complete. Have internal meetings to make sure they are all on the same page. People pick up their army of choice for a reason. They liked the fluff or the playstyle of an army and that leads a person to expect that army to stay true to that ideal. Giving units very cool special rules give you that feel. I picked up the Blood Angel Codex and I wasn't impressed with the feel of it. I want them to feel like they are portrayed, that's what makes you excited to play them. I've been playing 40K since 1990 and Eldar have always been my main. I know them quite well and so I have high expectations as to their design and play, when the book doesn't meet that expectation it is a let down. Power Level good or bad I want to see my Dar as they should be and a friend that plays Nids is always complaining about how far they have now diverged from their roots. With that being said he doesn't play anymore..  he still picks up the models and I think he is waiting. If GW brings back that feel he'd probably jump right back in.

Powerwise the old Eldar Dex (not really that old as it was only what 2 years old?) was a solid book but there were tons of units that were useless or overcosted which meant they were never used. Or used as one trick ponies such as Jetbikes grabbing late objectives but just sitting there most of the game hiding. This new book addresses a lot of those failings, there really isn't much in this book that feels like it's bad to me. If you want to make a fast mech army you can do that.. you can make a solid foot Dar list or you can even make a CC list that could actually be viable. I've been going over ideas for a new build and I've liked what I've seen. If it was just sit down and build up the list it would be great but when it's comes to tournaments it's going to be a tough one and that is already getting me frustrated. I really don't want to DL a cross reference sheet from every TO to learn how I can build my army (It's something they have to do so nothing against them.. it's just a pain). For NOVA this year I'm just avoiding anything that is or could be banned. I only have a few months and now I'll have to adjust my entire list and the models I'll need.

The main army special rules are pretty much the same as before. Battle Focus and Ancient Doom. But they've now added in the Craftworld Warhost Detachment army build style that gives you some very nice bonuses. One of these is always run 6" instead of D6 which when combined with Battle Focus is amazing. Knowing you will be able to run 6" it huge for Eldar as they rely on their mobility to survive. Knowing you will be able to shoot and then Battle Focus into a building or knowing that you need to be 5" closer to be fully effective when shooting  is no big deal. Each of the other formations have some very nice bonuses as well. I will most likely still be building my list normally maybe adding in some of the formations here and there but I'm still looking into them.

For this post I'll go into the HQ choices and address the others in a later post(s) as this one is already getting very long.

Eldar probably has the most HQ options in the game though most of them aren't ever used. Lets start with the non names HQs first. Actually I think I'll handle the Phoenix Lords with with their aspects as they are pretty tied together.

Farseer - The Default leader of pretty much most armies.
He is strong and now even stronger then before for same cost. Still a level 3 Psy pulling powers from Div, Fate, Telepathy and now Santic. So he has a wide range of options that are pretty much all good. He'll still be on a bike 90% of the time unless you are running foot dar, not a bad thing but it just doesn't have much variety. Wave Serpents got a nerf and with them not being able to cast in one makes the WS a pretty bad choice to be embarked on. Where the Farseer got a buff though is through his runes. Awesome in the 4th Ed Dex and then worthless in the last one they now re-roll once per Psy phase (not per game or even turn... phase) any dice however you choose for a Deny the Witch or Psy test. That is pretty huge, you ARE going to get off that one power you may really want. He's still rocking the Ghosthelm and wielding the Witch Blade or Spear if you bump it up.

Spiritseer -
Not too shabby if you are using Wraith units. He's still a Level 2 Psy but now he can take the same powers as a Farseer, Div, Fate, Telepathy and now Santic. Witchstaff and Spirtmark (which is now re-roll to hit on any units in 12", you don't have to choose) but no Ghosthelm or Runes so good to ride along with some Wraithguard/blades.

Warlock Council -
These guys are expensive. They will be very strong I suppose but you are looking at a very large cost for something that can be done by Jetbikers alone since you can now upgrade one of them to be a Lock. In addition to Runes of Battle they can also pull from Santic and have Brotherhood of Psy rule which can boost their Psy Level from 1 to 3. It's not a bad unit just more expensive then I would like.

Runes of Fate -
Are stronger then they were before losing Death Mission thankfully and keeping the staples.
Guide - Same
Doom - Same
Fortune - Same
Mind War - Same
Eldritch Storm - Now can be buffed up to a 4WC cast which takes it's size to Apoc Blast! That is one huge template.
Will of Asuryan - Give Fearless and Add Will so it's at least useful!

Runes of Battle -
Are the same

Autarch -
The same, Sadly this is one guy that hardly ever sees that table. The bonus reserve roll is nice but I don't know if it's worth the points. And his points can get high if you really kit him out!

I think that's going to be the it for this post. I need to wrap it up!..  I have picked up a bunch of bikes and have been cutting and filing them... sheesh... it's a bunch for so many bikes and I'm trying to make sure they are 100% flash free.